Lunch With The Crazy Crowd - Tendon Ginza Itsuki @ Tanjong Pagar Road

Joining the ranks of the famous stretch of Japanese restaurant along Orchid Hotel, Tendon Ginza Itsuki (barely 1 month old) has already managed to have a 'velvet-rope-queue' worth of crowd every single day. They are a joint collaboration between the infamous Ramen King Keisuke Takeda and Ginza Itsuki Sushi (sushi restaurant in Tokyo). And they serve - ONLY 2 Tendon dishes (basically tempura rice bowl), either you order the "Special" or "Vegetable". Can't help but to overhear some people ahead of me lament "The last time we were here, even the people ahead us were already queueing 30 minutes, don't know how long we will queue today". Gulp. But, armed with a bagful of persistence and patience, my turn finally came. 30 minutes later. Add another 15 minutes of waiting time (in a more comfortable setting than the hot queue outside), lunch finally filled my tummy after some 45 minutes worth of accumulated time. Was it worth the wait? Hai,-sodesu!

Having had more than needed calories from a burger last night, it's time to go vegetarian for the day

At least 20 people. Waiting. Just waiting. To spend money.

At 1239hrs (very concise), I have my bill. The bill is issued to you whilst you are waiting for your turn. Cue - almost your turn, get ready to Chiong!

What a start contrast it is to the all the growling hungry crowd just a few steps outside the sliding door

I would like a counter seat next time. So I can watch 'em Masters in symphony with their work.

Pickled Vegetables. Notice how they have assimilated local flavor of Bird's Eye Chilli, or better known as Cili Padi? Subtle kick of heat in each crunchy bite. Psst, btw, it's free flow.

Each Tendon comes with a serving of Chawanmushi and Miso Soup.

 Soft and light with chunks of prawns and chicken

The Vegetable Tendon @ $12.90 is a mountain of artfully pieced together pieces of lightly battered vegetables. I counted Shitake Mushroom, Pumpkin, Red and Yellow Pepper, Eggplant, Lotus Root, Baby Corn and some leafy vegetables.

The batter is made from flour specially flown in from Japan. To ensure optimum results and to maintain quality control, there are 2 different fryers, 1 for seafood and meat and the other for vegetables. I have always been wary of eating Tempuras, anything dunked in oil is never a good thing. But at Tendon Ginza Itsuki, there is none of the greasy, too-much-oil-jelak-taste, the batter is light, and gently fried till "al-dente" tempura style. 

Reddy's score sheet :

Ambience : 5/10 The interior is bright and has a light colour palatte, there are only 2 tables. The rest of the seats are counter seats, right in front of the epicenter of cooking! Those are the exciting spots to be. Ventilation needs to be looked at, there is a strong "fry" smell which clings on to your clothes.

Food : 9/10 Huge and generous portions. Very nicely done. Will try the Special Tendon next time.

Service : 6/10 As your order is made ala-minute, be prepared to spend some time waiting. Word of advice, grab a small bite (a bun or a fruit) before headed down here. You will need the energy to wait, for quite an extended period of time. Other than that, they are pretty prompt once you make your way inside the 24 seater restaurant.

Tendon Ginza Itsuki

101 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088522

Tel : 6221 6678